Bose QC3

One big misunderstanding with these headphones is that they cancel all noise, they don't, they cancel ambient/white noise. For example, the sound of a noisy air conditioner running will be eliminated from your ears and you could actually carry on a conversation with someone while standing over it and hear them perfectly clear. Now if you introduce music, then you can't hear anything.

I use these headphones EVERY day and have nothing but great things to say about them. I have listened to my entire library of music over again after buying these headphones and needless to say the music sounds much clearer, the bass reflex is superior to any on the ear headphone, oh I forgot to mention the noise canceling abilities. I absolutely love the fact that while I am playing my music during programming for a customer I cannot hear any of the office banter. Being a consultant that is a huge plus. I have also taken and used these headphone when I goto customer data centers where the white noise is so loud you can't even think. I put on these headphones and immediately the sanity returns, then playing a little Nickelback through them during server maintenance keeps me focused and rockin. I also wear these during shooting my pistol and shotgun and it eliminates the hassle of earplugs(not sure if they are recommended for this, but they work for me). Oh, btw, I originally bought these for a flight to Cancun and I was so impressed by what I didn't hear and by what I could hear I passed the headphones around to most of the people in my area on the plane and they were equally impressed.

The battery life is equally impressive. I have had these headphones for a year now and have charged the battery only about 5 times. Did I mention I use them EVERY day? I religiously turn them off when I walk away from them. When you do have to charge the battery, it charges fairly quick. If you only have the opportunity to charge them for a few minutes, that will usually last you long enough to get to through your flight.

As for the construction, they are consumer quality headphones. I own Sony, JVC, Plantronics and by far, these headphones are built better, have lasted longer and perform better. They are not industrial headphones and should not be used as such.

If I had to pick something to be a con, it would be the cost, but they are well worth it. Oh the carrying case is a bit annoying, but you get over that once you realize you love the headphones.

After wearing them for hours in front of my computer, they make the outside of my ear sore. I have discovered this usually happens when I am wearing my reading glasses and the headphones together.

If you buy another brand without trying these first, then you will be throwing the money away you could have used to buy these.